Europe is a hot-spot for aquatic introductions with nearly 900 alien species reported at present. Introduction of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) is regarded as a serious threat to European biodiversity and ecosystems. Introduced seaweeds represent one of the largest groups of marine aliens in Europe, and are reported to constitute between 20 and 29 % of all alien marine species. Seaweeds are major primary producers in coastal areas, and are extremely important for coastal ecosystems by supporting high biodiversity through structuring complex habitats for associated species. Large-scale substitution of dominant native seaweeds with alien species will consequently alter coastal productivity and food web structure, and therefore impact ecosystem services. Only a few impact studies on invasive seaweeds have been carried out worldwide, and these have detected a range of negative ecological effects, with reduction in abundance of native biota being most frequently reported. Little is known about how temperature variation influences the relationships between alien and native seaweeds. Facing climate change, species can either move, change their phenotypes to match with the new environment, or adapt through genetic changes to the new conditions. The aim of the INVASIVES project has been to assess present and future impacts of invasive alien seaweeds on the North-Atlantic coastal biodiversity. The project has specifically aimed at predicting the effects of alien seaweeds under climate variability and rising sea surface temperatures in the North-Atlantic. The following main objectives have been addressed: 1) To assess the importance of new pathways of alien seaweeds to European coasts, 2) To develop niche models which predict the potential range of alien seaweeds, under present and future climatic conditions, 3) To investigate the ecological processes responsible for substituting native seaweeds with invasive ones, 4) To assess the impact of alien seaweeds on native seaweed-associated fauna and food webs, 5) To study how acclimation and adaptation processes can influence the success of invasive seaweeds, and 6) To study how climatic variation affects the biochemical acclimation of invasive seaweeds. By using a combination of modeling, field studies, ecological experiments, biochemical and molecular work, the impact of alien seaweeds on the native biodiversity under variable climatic conditions has been studied. The project consortium has comprised seven partners from five countries (Iceland, Norway, Belgium, France and Portugal), and experiments and fieldwork have been carried out in northern, western and southern Europe. Three large consortium project meetings have been arranged during the project period, the upstart meeting was held in Belgium (Gent) in 2013, the halfway meeting in Norway (Bergen) in 2014, and the final meeting in Portugal (Faro) in 2016. These meetings were particularly useful for planning cooperative or complementary studies, and for carrying out an integrative work by sharing and discussing the results. A project web page was launched during 2014, where news and results from the INVASIVES project have been made available, as well as news about invasive species in general (https://invasives.b.uib.no/). The project has produced results within a wide range of areas, covering all the main objectives of the project, and represent main contributions to understanding how invasive alien seaweeds (IAS) spread, adjust, and impact seaweed communities in Europe under changing climate conditions. Results from the project have been presented at several symposia and seminars, and so far a total of 17 papers or book-chapters have been published or are accepted for publishing.

We aim to fill a critical knowledge gap relating to the movement dynamics and protection of predatory coastal fishes. These are species that may move to an extent where they are not efficiently protected within the borders of current marine protected areas in Europe. This is unfortunate, since mobile coastal predators can play a crucial role in facilitating ecosystem productivity and resilience to environmental change, and even to promote genetic diversity at lower trophic levels. At the same time, these – usually larger – species are a priced catch in many fisheries and often suffer from size-selective overharvesting that may drive fisheries-induced evolution away from natural adaptations. Also, their movement dynamics tend to be poorly understood since current monitoring networks are typically designed to quantify behaviour at smaller spatial scales. In the MOVE project, we will combine fish tracking technology across multiple spatial scales with a novel eco-evolutionary perspective on fish movescapes. By adding larger-scale monitoring arrays, we aim to identify connectivity hotspots and movement corridors characterising predatory coastal fish that may have diverse functional roles in coastal ecosystems. We anticipate that a significant transnational added value will be achieved by applying a common and unifying theoretical framework, and a common approach for empirical data collection to multiple European coastal systems that include both current MPAs and plans for more coherent networks of MPAs at larger spatial scales. Further strengthening this value, we will analyse data on several coastal predatory fish species that may have comparable functional roles across systems. We will also analyse existing data sets on inter- and intraspecific variation in movement dynamics of coastal predators inside and outside current MPAs. This way, we aim to elucidate the benefits of current levels of protection from an eco-evolutionary perspective by combining information about individual fish movements and fitness. Based on the same information, we will also investigate potential cost such as increased predation pressure and possible displacement of traditional artisanal- and recreational fisheries. We will work in close collaboration with agencies responsible for governance and management of current MPAs as well as the transition to future networks of MPAs that will benefit coastal ecosystems and societies at larger scales. We anticipate that knowledge resulting from our project will feed directly into their strategy for MPA development, for instance by protection of essential connectivity hotspots. Lastly, we will bring in local fishers to participate in tagging and tracking operations. We believe that our combined efforts will result in true co-production of new knowledge and applications.

Macroalgae proliferations in tropical and subtropical coastal ecosystems represent a serious threat to the biologic diversity of these environments. In coral reefs, where the coral-algal competition can modify the ecosystem structure and functioning as well as the reef-scape, these interactions are particularly problematic. The macroalgae proliferation effects can be detrimental to the coral reef related ecosystem services and goods for several human populations depending on coastal ecosystems. The origin and mechanisms of these proliferations are poorly studied, and our knowledge of the number of the species involved is scanty. Hence, we proposed to address this subject through the case study of proliferations of the red algae (Rhodophyta) of the genus Asparagopsis, enlisted by IUCN among the introduced and invasive species in subtropical and temperate areas. Their status is still largely unknown (e.g., taxonomy, ecosystem effects, origin of the proliferations) and a global and multidisciplinary study is needed to understand and manage their proliferations.The ERA-NET NETBIOME programme provides the opportunity to submit an interdisciplinary research programme, involving French and Portuguese teams specialised in tropical and sub-tropical marine ecosystems. The eight partners, organised in a consortium, aim at establishing a study platform at the taxon distribution scale. A multi-scale approach will be put in place in two hemispheres and three oceans (the Portuguese islands of the Azores and of Madeira, La Réunion Island, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, and the Mediterranean). The first objective is to (i) assess the proliferation of algae populations in relation to the habitat and different environmental parameters, (ii) set up a reference list of the benthic organisms, cnidarians in particular, affected by the algal proliferations; (iii) monitor at certain study sites the spatio-temporal evolution of the algae populations. Results will be gathered in an online database which will allow the mapping of knowledge across three oceans.The second objective is to draw the profile of individuals from all the study areas using three complementary approaches: (i) a molecular taxonomy and phylogeography approach to identify the clades occurring in the study area (Asparagopsis sp. being a species complex) and determine the native vs introduced status of proliferating populations; (ii) a metabolomic approach to test the relevance of chemical signatures to differentiate taxa/clades (chemotaxonomic approach); (iii) an evaluation of the composition of microbial communities associated with algae using new-generation sequencing type 454 (e.g. community genomics). The combination of these different approaches is uncommon, particularly in marine systems. Such integrated approach is ambitious but feasible, and is one of the scientific challenges of the proposed study. For instance, it will be used to test the hypothesis that algal proliferation and their effects on cnidarians may be at least partially explained by the taxonomic/metabolomic/microbial identity. The third objective is to test experimentally, in situ and in the laboratory, the harmful nature of Asparagopsis and the ecological effects of its proliferation in cnidarians dominated benthic assemblages. We propose to examine the natural toxicity of algal species on coral health (holobiont) and its control by the action of herbivores. Asparagopsis bioactivity will be used as a proxy for the production of biologically active substances. Recorded bioactivities will be analyzed in light of different metabolic phenotypes defined elsewhere, and a potential link with the genetic profiles of algae and associated microbial communities will be sought. The expected results will help to fill the gaps on the status of the genus Asparagopsis at the biogeographic scale, to better understand the proliferation in different regions, to document interactions with cnidarians and assess the impacts in or

HaloFarMs will develop and optimize new sustainable farming systems for the Mediterranean region based on the smart use of halophyte plants to value degraded and unexploited salt-affected lands. These systems will ultimately cope with soil and water salinization. The project involves a multidisciplinary and intersectorial R&D team, including agronomists, biologists, engineers, chemists, environment experts, biotechnologists, veterinarians economists and social actors and stakeholders from Tunisia, Spain, Egypt, Portugal, France and Italy. HaloFarMs will optimize 1) desalination of saline soils by halophytes prior to crop cultivation, 2) intercropping halophytes on salt-affected soils, with important commercial cultivated crops, and 2) in vitro cultivation of halophytes. The produced halophytes will be biochemically characterized for nutritional profile and functional properties; these high added-value products can be used in the cosmetic, food and veterinary industries. HaloFarMs is particularly relevant to this call since it aims to leverage the challenges of the Mediterranean agriculture by offering Naure Based Solutions to stop the soil degradation or convert poorly valued lands, diversify the cultures with a set of traditional food crops, traditional cash crops and new high-value crops, and contribute to preserve biodiversity and natural resources in the Mediterranean area. The adoption by farmers of HaloFarMs findings, thanks to our NGO and governmental advisors partners, will decrease soil salinization, increase yields without depleting fresh water resources and diversify the sources of income. This will thus reduce environmental risk on farming ecosystems, increase the viability of farms and secure the incomes of workers in a socially and ecologically acceptable way.